Drafting equipment carrier



Jan. 10, 1961 R. w. Bow

' DRAFTING EQUIPMENT CARRIER Filed Jan. 30, 1959 INVENTOR. Richard Z/ Bow BY www H Tney United States Patent O W DRAFI'ING EQUIPMENT CARRIER Richard W. Bow, 39 Grand St., Worcester, Mass.

Filed Jan. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 790,183

1 Claim. (Cl. 224-45) Thisv invention relates to a drafting equipment carrier and more particularly to apparatus arranged to carry and protect the equipment used in mechanical drawing.

In the past there has been considerable difficulty, particularly among students in engineering colleges, due to the fact that drafting equipment is so bulky and diilicult to carry. This problem is accentuated in the case of students by the fact that quite often they cannot store their drafting equipment at the room in which the drawing class is given but must carry them from their residences. Furthermore, in addition to this drafting equipment (which may be used in one class of perhaps an hours duration) the student must carry all of the books and paraphernalia for the other classes which are to be held during the rest of that day. At the same time, drafting equipment is very difficult to protect from rain and snow; because of its size and shape, it is diicult to carry under a. raincoat, Also, drafting equipment because of its very nature is easily damaged by rain because the drafting board is made of wood, readily absorbs water, and in most cases is easily warped; this is also true of the T- square and, of course, drawings and papers are easily ruined by water. In providing a carrier for this type of equipment it is also necessary that some arrangement be made whereby all of the compartments are readily accessible while the drafting board is being used. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a drafting equipment carrier which will carry and protect the drawing board, T-square, paper, and like equipment necessary for executing drawings.

lt is another object of this invention to provide a carrier for use with a drawing board and associated equipment which may remain attached to the drawing board while it is being used without interfering with the drawing process.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a carrier for drafting equipment which will adequately protect the equipment from inclement weather.

A still further object of the instant invention is the provision of a drafting equipment carrier which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts setforth in the specification and covered by the claim appended hereto.

The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. lA is an elevational view of one side of an apparatus embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus taken on the line Il--ll of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the other side of the apparatus.

, vided at its upper edge (which extends slightly beyond- Patented Jan. 10, 196,1

ice

Like reference characters denote similar parts in the several gures of the drawings.

Referring now to Fig. 1, wherein is best shown the general features of the invention, the drafting equipment carrier, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is shown in use with a drawing board 11 and a T- square 12. The drawing board is of the customary type which consists of a composite wood construction approximately an inch thick, in the order of a yard long, and 21/2 feet wide. The T-square is provided, as is the usual case, with a head 13 and an elongated shank 14. The carrier 10 consists of a main body member 15 to which are attached handles 16 and 17, a T-square socket 18, and a pocket 19.

The main body member 15 is formed from a single piece of cloth, preferably having an element of waterproofing therein, such as is usual in the case of waterproofed canvas. The main body member is slightly wider than the longest dimension of the drawing board 11 and is considerably longer than twice the width of the drawing board. It is provided at its central portion with three apertures through which screws 21, 22 and 23 enter one of the long edges of the `drawing board and serves to fasten the main body member securely to that board. The screws 21, 22, and 23 are provided with round heads to act as caster or protector members for the lower edge of the carrier, so that it may be set down on an abrasive surface without damage to the carrier. One side of the main body member extends upwardly along one side of the drawing lboard and is pro- 'the upper edge of the drawing board) with the female portions of three snap fasteners 24. The other part of the main body member extends up along the rear side of the drawing board over the top edge and then is folded downwardly over the outside surface of the first portion of the main body member. The extreme edge of this last portion of the main body member is provided with the male portions of the snap fasteners 24. and the dimensions are selected in such a manner that, when the halves of snap fasteners are joined, the main body member closely embraces the drawing board. As has been stated before, the halves of the main body member are provided with the straps 16 and 17, respectively. Each of the handles 16 and 17 consists of a single length of heavy duty canvas webbing which is suitably sewn to its respective half of the main body member. The points at which the legs of the straps are fastened are quite close together, as is evident in Fig. l, in order that the handle does not pull the ends of the carrier together.

The socket 18 extends diagonally across the rear side of the carrier. It is closed at its lower end and is selected of such a size as to closely embrace the shank 14 of the T-square. It is formed of the same waterproof canvas material as the main body member 15. The pocket 19 is secured to the front side of the carrier and is formed of the same waterproofed canvas material as the main body member l5. It is provided with two pockets separated by a divider 25, the ends and bottoms of the pocket being corrugated or formed accordion fashion to provide for expansion when bulky articles are enclosed in the pockets but permitting the pocket to lie closely adjacent the main body member when nothing is carried in the pocket or a relatively thin article is carried therein. The upper part of the pocket is covered by a flap 26 which is fastened to the front upper edge of the pocket by snap fasteners 27. The dimensions of the pocket 19 are selected to permit it to accommodate the largest size books and papers which might be encountered; usually, the 8" x 11" dimensions are adequate.

The operation of the apparatus of the invention will now be readily understood in view of the above description. As has been stated, the carrier is firmly screwed to the lower edge of the drawing board 11 by means of round head screws 21, 22, and 23.V Then, the main body member 15 is wrapped around the drawing board and the snap fasteners 24 are actuated to hold the flap over the shorter portion of the main body member. The T-square is inserted in the socket 18 and moved downwardly therein until it reaches the bottom of the socket. At this time the head 13 of the Tsquare is closely adjacent the particular corner of the carrier with which it is associated; that is, the ends of the head do not stick out to any great extent and offer no problem in carrying the drafting equipment in crowded quarters, such as are encountered in a bus or street car. The papers and books are inserted in the pocket and the snap fasteners 27 are used to secure the flap 26 over the upper edge of the pocket. Then, the carrier is carried by means of the handles 16 and 17 which are held in one hand. It should be noted that the handle 17 is not fastened to the ap of the main body member but is fastened to the short or front portion. This assures that the weight of the articles is carried in the handles Without any possibility of opening the ap. When carried in this way the T-square cannot slip out of its pocket and the narrow legs of the handles 15 and 17 assure that the main body member is not pulled toward the center. When the articles are carried in this Way in inclement weather, the drawing board is adequately protected as are the articles in the pocket. Furthermore, the T-square is protected from damage because its shank 14 is securely held within its socket. When the user reaches the point at which the drafting instruments are to be used, he opens the snap fasteners 24 and by holding the upper edge of 4 the drawing board 11 he permits the two portions of the main body member to drop downwardly suspended by the screws 21, 22 and 23. In this position the drawing board is placed on the stand with the carrier hanging down the higher side of the stand out of the draftsmans way, since he usually sits at the lower edge of the stand or table. Furthermore, while making use of the drawing board, if it is necessary to obtain some of the material in the pocket 19, it is possible to do so, since the carrier hangs in a fairly accessible position. Furthermore the T-square stays in its pocket because of the tight fit until such time as it is necessary to use it.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include al1 such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

A drafting equipment carrier, comprising a rectangular main body formed of sectional sheet material and adapted to be folded along a line parallel to and midway between the ends to form two halves and to embrace a drawing board, a handle fastened adjacent each end of the body member, means for securing the two ends together, and an elongated pocket fastened to the body member and extending diagonally across one of the said halves for holding a T-square.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

